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Staff detail Miramonte housing mix, inclusionary targets and RHNA alignment
Summary
City staff told the council Miramonte’s specific plan projects 2,392 homes with a required 20% inclusionary affordable housing component; staff explained how phase 1 and 2 would contribute to the current RHNA cycle and described financing constraints for very low‑income ownership units.
At a Soledad City Council workshop, staff described the Miramonte Specific Plan housing mix and how the city will enforce affordable‑housing requirements through an affordable‑housing agreement and the city’s inclusionary ordinance.
Beatrice Rubio, representing Community and Economic Development staff, said the developer’s specific plan projects 2,392 units spread across different density categories: 1,318 low‑density units, 626 medium‑density units, 134 senior units and a 314‑unit “residential study area.” Rubio told the council that the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance requires 20% of a development to be affordable, allocated as 8% moderate, 6% low and 6% very low.
Staff explained how early phasing relates to the current regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) cycle. Rubio and other staff said phase 1 and phase 2 together would produce 568 units; staff projected that those two phases would yield 50 very low, 50 low and 77 moderate units combined, and they emphasized that the affordable‑housing agreement will specify whether units are rental or ownership and the timing of delivery.
Staff and council members flagged financing as a key constraint. Beatrice Rubio and other staff explained that affordable rental projects typically secure financing via Low‑Income Housing Tax Credits and other subsidies, and that small ownership projects at very low incomes are difficult to finance because lenders and investors generally require larger project scale. A developer representative confirmed in the workshop that most affordable rental projects need on the order of 40–60 units to be financially feasible using tax credits and gap financing.
Council members and members of the public urged front‑loading more very low and low‑income units into early phases; residents said they worried the first phases are dominated by above‑moderate market units. Staff responded that city‑led affordable projects (for example, a city land purchase at Gavilan discussed in the meeting) are also in the pipeline but that Miramonte’s inclusionary requirements are capped by the city ordinance and by financing realities for private developments.
Next steps: staff said the affordable‑housing agreement will be refined by city staff, reviewed by the ad‑hoc housing committee and brought back to council for review before inclusion in the development‑agreement package.
